Receptacle for mail and the like.



LE ROY "T. STEWARD. REOBPTAGLE FOB MAIL AND THE HIKE. APPLICATION FILED 119.31, 1912.

1, 1 04, 1 Patented July 21, 1914.

single form of my invention as embodied a nest or battery made u of three mail boxes or rece tacles and, or the sake of brevity, I sha confine the detailed description to this specific arrangement; but it will of course be understood that I do notdesire to be limited to the articular construction and arrangement ustrated or to the use of my improved device as a mail-receiving receptacle, since in its broadenaspecta my invention may take various other specific forms and be used for other purposes than for receiving mail only.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 represents a suitable frame extending around one end of a battery of connected boxes or receptacles, 2, 3 and 4, lying side by side. The receptacles are 11' to the frame at the bottom, as indicate at 5 and have a flange 6 which is adapted to engage with the top and two sides 0 the frame to limit the backward swinging movement of the rece es. If desired, the frame may have on t e back thereof a casing or housing 7, which incloses the receptacles when they are swung back so as to bring the flange into engagement with the frame. The casing or housin is not, however, essential. The tops of t wiptacles are open so that when the recep cs are swung out as shown in Fig. 2, mail matter or other articles small enou to fit into the receptacles may readily be inserted. By this arrangement, making the receptacles lar e enough to receive magazines, ordinary boo s, and other matter customarily sent through the mails, every-piece can be placed in one of the receptacles and need not be left on the outside as is now commonly done by the carrier. Each receptacle is provided with a door, as indicated at 8, 9 and 10 respectively, the doors being lar enou to {:rmit the removal of any artic e whic can placed in one of the receptacles. Near the top of the nest or battery of receptacles is a knob or handle 11 which may also serve as a part of a lock having a key-receiving slot or opening 12. The lock ma be of any suitable form .which will secure y hold the battery of receptacles in a closed position except when released by a suitable key or by manipulating a proper combination device. Each of the doors, 8, 9 and 10 is also provided with an individual lock, as indicated at 14, 15 and 16 respectively. The main lock is intended to be under the control of the mail carrier while each of the other locks is under the control of the proper tenant,

owner or user.

The device is mounted in or on a wall, door or other suitable place which will per mit the mail carrier to have seems to it. A convenient method of mounting the device, (althou any desired method may be employed, is to make an openingin a wall of .the building and secure the cviee in the opening with only the front face of the frasipp and the front of the receptacle expo Normally the receptacles are closed sothat nothing can be put into them or taken out of them except by authorized persons having the roper keys or combinations. When the mai carrier comes, he opens the main lock, therecepltacles are out as shown in Fig. 2, t e mailis quickl inserted into the receptacles and then e receptacles are swung back in their normal closed position; the entire operation being quickly erformed and all of the mail being quic y and securely housed in the proper receptacles.

To remove the mail from his receptacle, the tenant or owner simply unlocks the proper door, thus givi him access to the contents of the receptac e; and, b making the doors of the proper size and s ape, any piece of mail or other article which may be placed in a receptacle may be taken out through the door of that receptacle.

Since it is easier for the carrier to swing the receptacles in the closing direction than to pull them open, a suitable sp or s rings 17 may be placed beneath or be ind t e receptacles in position to swing the receptacles out whenever the main lock is unfastened, so that as soon as the carrier unlocks the receptacles they are swung into their receiving position and no time is lost in opening them or holdi them in the o ition. After the mail as been deposited in the receptacles, the latter are closed by sim ly giving them a backward push.

here the receptacles are to serve also as collection boxes, suitable chutes, whose outlet ends are indicated at 18 to 20, ively, may be led from suitable points within convenient reach of the users, each chute terminating just above the proper rece tacle. By this arrangement, mail for co ection may be laced in the rece tacles and the carrier, be ore distributing mail, can take from tho receptacles mail left for collection.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple, novel and eflicient device in which all articles or things ordinarily sent through the mails may be laced by the carrier so that nothing need left in an exposed position; that no unauthorized can either insert or remove any article of any kind from therece that becauseno openi' are norm y left, dirt is excluded from receptacle so that it-and its contents remain dean and 6310M; that a sim le means is provi or eposi mail'for collodion; and that the tune :5 energy of the mail carrier are conserved by reason of the ease with which he can deposit the mail to be delivered.

While 10:11:10 illonlustratsd and deacrlfem with rfi ,ty y a a pro embodiment of my invention, do not desire to be limited to the specific structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for nolding mail or the like comprising a plurality of connected receptacles open at the top, a closing device for said open tops, means for mounting said receptacle so as to permit it to be inoved into and out of operative relation to said closing device, a lock for holding said receptacles in operative relation to said closing device independent doors in said receptacles, an independent locks for said doors adapted to permit each of said doors to be opened independently of the others.

2. A device for holding mail or the like, comprising a casing open on the front side, a receptacle arranged in said casing and forming a closure for said open side, a hinge connecting the lower front corner of the receptacle to said casing, said receptacle being open at the top and having a series of vertical partitions extendin from the top to the bottom thereof to divi e it into a series of compartments, a lock arranged to lock the receptacle in position wherein the top thereof is closed by the casing, each of said comartinents having an in 'vidual door in the out wall of the receptacle, and separate locks for said doors.

3. In a device for holding mail or the like,

a casing open at ,the front, an open-top receptacle arranged in, the casin and having a front wall of the size and ape to close the open side of the casing, said receptacle being open at the top, a series of vertical partitions arranged in the receptacle to divide it into a series of compartments, a hinge connecting the lower front corner of the receptacle to the casing, a spring acting on the receptacle to swing the upper end outwardly and expose the open up er ends of the compartments, a lock for hol ing the receptacle in its retracted position with the upper end closed by the casing, separate doors in the frontwall of the receptacle for said compartments, and a lock for each door.

LE ROY T. STEWARD.

Witnesses:

WM. F. FREUDENREICH, RU'rn E. Zn'rrnawma. 

